4 Chapter 4

I walked through the corridor of Rossmore High and thought about my plans for the article.

It was Monday and I felt sleepy, but my next period would start in less than three minutes, so I had to hurry.

When I came into the classroom, I sighed. I had totally forgot that I shared this class with Megan and Andrea, fortunately not with Logan. Only one of them was better than both.

And, oh, Jeremy was here as well.

I sat down at my desk and took out one of my books, so I could read something before the Spanish teacher Misses Abalos would torture me with words I did not understand. The torture was brutal none the less. I would have rather spent my time with writing instead of sitting here.

Misses Abalos was late, so I read on when the bell rang. I had nothing better to do, neither Kyle nor Beren shared this class with me.

"Are you in a better mood today, feisty girl?" I recognised the voice without looking.

"Not when you talk to me, Jeremy." I closed my book and turned towards him.

He sat in the back of the class, wore dark jeans and a hoodie and grinned like a maniac. Why exactly did my mom not send me to an all-girls school again? At the moment I would've appreciated that.

"Oh don't be mean, just say that you secretly like me and let's make out." He couldn't let it be.

I touched my dark hair und groaned. "What have I done to deserve this?!"

"My presence? I don't know, you must have been a really good person in your last life. Congrats to that." He was so full of himself, unbelievable. How could someone have such a huge ego?

I turned around without another word. I had no time for arguing with him, that was what he wanted. I started to read again.

"Maisie," I heard a voice near my head, "hey Maisie? Do you hear me?"

Surprised, I looked up from the page of my book and realised that none other than Megan herself tried to speak to me. I was perplexed and said nothing as I waited for her to continue.

"What are you doing Maisie?" Was she serious?

Had she never seen a book before? She was supposed to be the most intelligent student with the best grades, she must have read at least all school books. Maybe she just left her intelligence at home for today. Or every day, for that matter.

I looked at my blue and black hair, then back at her with the unfriendliest look I could master.

Having that resting bitch face was Beren's department, not mine, but I think I managed quite well.

"I`m working on my plan to take over the world." If she asked stupid questions, I would give her stupid answers. That was the least I could do.

She faked a smile, threw her blond hair over her shoulder and said: "Trying to be funny, huh? Well, I`m not. I mean- what are you doing with my boyfriend?"

I gave her a strange look. "Nothing?"

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me," she still smiled, "I heard you were talking to him last week."

"He told you?" I wasn't going to lie. The talk Logan and I had wasn't something I had to hide from the world.

I closed my book and waited for her answer, which took longer than expected. Megan seemed kind of stressed out, for whatever reason. Hopefully because of me. Or because of trouble in paradise.

Both thoughts were appealing. The second one even more than the first.

"No," Megan murmured, "Andrea told me. She saw you."

Oh my god! It kept getting better and better! Logan hadn't told her anything about it. Maybe he even lied to her.

Which led me to one, really important, question: Why?

Was it because he did not want to make her jealous? To make her worry? Or was it because he knew she had something to be worried about?

I was so not over him, goddammit! This was a disaster!

"I see," I looked over the Andrea and gave her a wink, before I turned my attention back to Megan, "and now you would like to know what we were talking about?"

"Exactly." She let out a breath and stretched her back. "So…what was it?"

"Ask your boyfriend." I grinned like the joker. They should give me the role in the next movie, I would fit perfectly. And I would get to make out with Margot Robbie, who, I have to admit, was an attractive woman.

I sensed that Megan was ready to start an argument and prepared myself for a little cat fight, when suddenly Misses Abalos entered the classroom and brought all the bickering to an end.

I was grateful for it, I was too tired to defend myself against Megan's threats.

But that meant that now I had to endure 80 wonderful minutes of torture in form of Spanish class, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

***

"-and then, I swear she farted! In the elevator! It was so funny! Miss Rush looked at her as if she had seen a ghost!" Kyle couldn't stop laughing while telling us a story about last Saturday when he was at the local shopping centre, and I couldn't stop laughing because of him.

He seemed to really enjoy the story, he described every detail and left nothing out. It was like a good article.

"Farting in an elevator is wrong on so many levels!" Beren made a stupid face. "And furthermore, disgusting. The smell – ugh!"

"Did that ever happen to you, Maisie?" Kyle asked in my direction and I looked up from my lunch. It was lasagne, one of my favourites, and I couldn't get enough of it.

Logan used to make a good one – not that I had eaten any made by him lately. But I was sure Megan had and that made me kind of jealous, I'll admit.

"If it did I wouldn't know. I can't smell." They had known me for so long, why did they not remember that important fact about my life? I mean, I didn't know anybody else without a sense of smell.

But I did not have the chance to talk about the topic, because Kyles eyes kept getting bigger and bigger, as he looked at something behind me.

Beren shifted in her seat and looked at the ground, while I turned around to have a look at it.

Alice Edwards was walking to our table, her dark brown hair up in a ponytail and polite smile on her face. I liked that girl, she was cool.

And, in addition to that, she was one of my Oh`s. Not the once that Beren meant, but my Oh`s.

Twelve months ago, when Logan and I had called it quits…Let's just say, I wasn't in a good place.

I was out of my mind and acted like a total freak, because I couldn't stand the thought of not being with him. Of being on my own.

Alice understood me. She kept me occupied, she made me laugh, and when she asked my out on a date, I said yes without any hesitation.

The date itself went pretty well, we had a good laugh and a lot of fun, and at the end of the night we even shared a kiss. Yes, with tongue, but nothing more. Just a kiss. But after that we both realised that we were better as friends than as lovers.

Beren, on the contrary, was a different story. She had liked Alice for over a month now, but the two of them had never been out together. But something told me that was about the change. Alice wasn't one to talk around it. She always went straight to the point.

"Hey guys," I heard her say, "hey Beren."

We all greeted her friendly, but my best friend next to me did not say anything more. Her lips were sealed. Even when I kicked her under the table she just kept starring at Alice.

"Beren, can I talk to you for a minute?" Alice didn't want to let go.

"O-Of course," Beren murmured and awkwardly stood up from her seat to follow her out of the cafeteria. I watched as they walked away. It made me truly happy. They deserved to find someone who cared.

"Now that was interesting," said Kyle and I agreed with him, until he added: "And it is about to get even more interesting."

I didn't understand what he meant by that, until I heard Logan's voice behind me.

Oh no. Not him. Please not him. I couldn't deal with him right now.

"Hello Kyle," my Ex said and he and Kyle shook hands, "do you mind if I borrow Maisie? I have to talk to her about something."

"No, not at all," Kyle did not help me, "you can keep her, if you like. I mean, not forever, but you can have her for now if you don't kidnap her."

Unwillingly, I left my chair, stood up, straightened my jeans and went after Logan, who walked before me.

When we were outside the cafeteria, I was hoping to meet Alice and Beren, so they could save me from my misery, but I had no such luck. The hallway was empty and I felt nervous all of a sudden.

Logan looked at me for a long time, as if he wanted to study me, and came closer.

"You talked to Megan today." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. It was serious.

I gulped down the lump in my throat and nodded.

"I think you two spend too much time together. She told me the almost same thing this morning. You could be Siamese twins."

"What did you tell her? I got yelled at." He tried to make a puppy face. That did not work on me.

"Nothing, just that if she wanted to know what we were talking about last Friday, she would have to ask you. I`m refusing to be the messenger."

"Why?" Was it that hard to understand? Or did I speak a foreign language?

"Never seen a movie? The messenger always gets killed. Besides, I can't stand her." I crossed my arms over my chest. He kept getting on my nerves. It was frustrating and exciting at the same time.

One part of me wanted to get rid of him, to never see him again, but the other part was screaming for his attention, it craved for him.

I was fighting an inner battle and I did not know which side was going to win.

His green eyes stared curiously at me: "But you can stand me?"

There was that stupid grin again. The one I despised with all my heart. Or tried to despise, to be honest. I really tried my best.

Logan was so full of himself, just like Jeremy.

But he was also charming, ambitious and friendly to everyone. That's why he was our school`s golden boy, nobody had a bad word to say about him. Nobody but me.

He wasn't rich, like other players at our school, but he had a lot of charisma. People liked to have him around, and since he and I had broke n up, all the ladies wanted a part of his good looks.

I ignored his previous statement and asked: "So, are we finished here or what? I`m busy."

"Have you thought about my offer?" He was so close! Why couldn't he keep his distance? Was that one of his tricks to flirt with girls?

Or maybe, just maybe, he felt as drawn to me as I felt drawn to him. But that was just in my dreams and far away from reality.

Logan and I – we were over for good.

"What would I have to help you with? Tell me." I wasn't going to give in that easily.

"Is that a yes?" He smiled that pretty smile of his and gently touched my arm. Goosebumps rose on my skin.

"Not before I know what it is exactly that you are asking of me. I won't agree to a deal when I don't know the details." I was a journalist, I always wanted to know the details. Details were the key to a good story.

"Pretty please? My birthday is in a few days, consider it as a gift."

"I have a gift for your birthday." That surprised him. I had caught him off guard.

And, my imagination may have tricked me, but I was sure that he seemed genuinely happy about it.

"Oh, what is it?" Logan did not like secrets. When we were still together he always needed to know everything, just like me.

"My old parachute, used it only once. Never opened." I kept smiling while his vanished.

He withdrew his hand from my arm and I already missed his simple touch.

"That was mean."

And, instead of talking any further, I turned around, and while I did so, I answered: "That's me. Well, see you in gym class. Bye."